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walking It has a reputation as a great form of exercise that is easy and accessible for many people, and numerous studies have shown that the popular activity also has numerous health benefits.
It has been reported that taking at least 2,300 steps per day reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. one study Published in the 2023 edition of the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Additionally, weight-bearing exercise such as walking can help prevent osteoporosis. another study Published in Nature Scientific Reports.
However, some experts in the health and fitness field argue that while walking is certainly good for health and fitness, it’s not actually quality exercise. One such expert is Melissa Boyd, a certified personal trainer and coach on his online personal training platform, Tempo. Boyd is based in San Francisco.
“Our lives can get so busy, we commute, we sit all day, we’re exhausted by the evening, so just taking a short walk in makes us feel like we’ve accomplished this huge leap forward. ” Boyd said. “But walking is actually a fundamental movement that your body needs to function well, aid things like circulation and digestion, and decompress.”
To help clients better understand why daily walks don’t give them a beach body — something many of them believe, thanks to various social media influencers — and she discusses with them three types of movements that are beneficial for overall health and fitness.
The first is the movement your body undergoes or requires every day, such as walking, stretching, and bending. The second is motor movement. This can be done several times a week to improve fitness or train for sports. The third type is social exercise, such as dancing or volleyball, which we do for fun or to connect with others.
vgajic/E+/Getty Images
Dancing is a great form of social exercise to connect with others while improving your overall health and fitness.
“It’s important to think about movement in these different categories because we’re so used to not moving all day long,” Boyd says. “Our lives are sedentary, and many of us are trying to break free from lack of exercise. But exercise is not the same as being physically active.”
“Walking is great, but it’s only a form of unidirectional movement, and our bodies are not functionally capable of I need to work harder to get fit.”
Sirino said that in everyday life, people use the body’s muscles and tendons to bend, twist and rotate, which requires them to move and stretch in different directions. . In this regard, he said that yoga and Pilates are very effective and healthy activities.
“Stretching is also incredibly easy and can be done when you wake up and before you go to bed,” Cirino says.
Relaxed and flexible muscles also mean greater balance and stability, which helps prevent falls and injuries in all physical activities, he said. Elevating your heart rate several times a week can also be beneficial for cardiovascular health.
Ideally, you should create a plan that incorporates daily “obligation” movements such as walking and stretching, and sprinkle in cardiovascular training, strength training, and social activities throughout the week, they say. says. But for many it can seem overwhelming.
Boyd says one way to sneak in the movement your body needs is to break down all these different movements into exercise snacks.
“You could also buy a walking pad and have meetings while walking slowly on it,” she says. “Maybe you do 20 squats every time you go to the bathroom, or 10 pushups against the wall every time you get water. Add these exercise snacks to the other things you’re already doing. I’ve had great success with this.”
Boyd also encourages clients to find exercises they enjoy that don’t feel like a workout, such as kickball or pickleball. That way you can have fun and be social while also being healthier.
Sirino agrees. “Here in sports medicine, we see kids whose parents want them to play baseball, but they don’t want to play baseball,” he says. “It’s the same with exercise. You need to find something fun and easy to do, an activity that your friends are doing, etc., and use that as the basis for building good habits.”
Start slow and build from there
Rethinking exercise as regular movement necessary for physical function, fitness, and social connection can also be a way to give yourself permission to make time for your workout, Boyd says. said.
It’s also helpful to remember that creating an exercise plan doesn’t require immediate major lifestyle changes. In fact, it’s better to start slowly with new small movements.
“What I often see is that people like the way this is starting to make them feel,” Boyd said. “And the stronger they get, the more they want to move. Movement inspires movement.”
Melanie Rajicki McManus I’m a freelance writer specializing in hiking, travel, and fitness.
